My teaching inspiration comes from a few different places, and not all of it came from school or even from science teachers. In fact, it wasn’t until I got to college that I had science professors that had a passion and enthusiasm for their work that I found mesmerizing. Looking back at high school and grade school, it was the teachers that had a passion for the students that I remember best and that I find most influential.
My passion for biology was certainly not forged by academics. My motivation to learn about it was internally driven. As a strange young child, I would watch hours of PBS specials featuring any and all kinds of animals. I had a special fondness for sharks and would make it a point to be home to watch every show about them so that I could learn more. I was totally sucked in by the content, regardless of the narrator. Eventually we got cable, and with that came The Discovery Channel. Then I discovered the ultimate animal guy, The Crocodile Hunter. This guy was so passionate and enthusiastic about animals, conservation, and education that it made the content a thousand times more interesting. He motivated me to want to do more than just learn about it. He actually made me want to go out and do something about it. Now, I can’t say that Steve Irwin is the reason I got my bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Biology, but I’d be lying if I said he didn’t have a big influence on me.
In college I was fortunate enough to have two professors with the kind of enthusiasm that I wish I could project to my students. One was Dr. Roger LeBrun in the Entomology department. I couldn’t wait to get to his class. I could not have been more interested and entertained by him. The man loves bugs. He’s had malaria three times and he still loves them. He was animated and excited, and suddenly insects were the most interesting things I had ever learned about. How could I have lived this long without knowing about the intricate social interactions of bees? I just couldn’t get enough. I was seriously ready to change my major to Entomology after taking his class. If Entomology had been offered as an undergraduate degree, I don’t know where I’d be today.
The second was Chris Nerone. I had him for Field Botany in the summer of 2005. He dragged us all over the state that summer. It was hot, sticky, and buggy. We learned over 400 plants in five weeks. There wasn’t one thing he couldn’t identify. He could name the common name, family, genus, and species of any plant we inquired about and he was excited about every single one of them! He was always happy, upbeat, optimistic and full of energy. He loved his content and he loved spending all of that time teaching it to us. At the end of the summer session, he invited the class to his house for dinner. His wife cooked for us and we hung out with his family. Besides being enthusiastic and fun, he genuinely cared for us and we all knew it.
In high school, I did not have any spectacular biology teachers. The teachers that stand out the most in my mind were the ones who had the time and patience to work with me on subjects that I struggled with, and the ones who believed in me the most. Mrs. Hanratty spent so much time trying to teach me algebra. I had her for algebra I and algebra II and I was terrible at it. She was patient, kind, and never gave up on me. I’m grateful for all the extra time she spent explaining and re-explaining those concepts. While I’m still not great at algebra, I’m sure I’m better off because I had her.
Mr. Malloy was my music teacher. He believed in my ability. I’ve never worked so hard just to make a teacher proud of me. I’m not sure what it was about his teaching style that motivated me to want to make him proud. Perhaps it was just that he believed in me so much that I didn’t want to disappoint him. However it had to be more than that, because he was never disappointed. He was never negative. He told us what we were doing well and then he worked at helping us improve the parts that weren’t so great. I’m sure it was some kind of positive reinforcement, but the reward was the satisfaction of knowing that he was proud of you.
No matter their stated professions, the people who have inspired me the most are all natural teachers. They have all dedicated their lives to educating others about topics that are important to them, and they each bring an infectious enthusiasm to their work. In addition, they each sought to make a personal connection with their students. As a teacher, I look forward to working with students who, like me, have a passion for science. However, I also recognize that many of my students may struggle with the subject. By looking back at my own role models, I believe I can learn how to better reach all of these students. If I can communicate my love for science to students, make myself available for those who struggle, and maintain a positive and encouraging attitude, I believe I can be the kind of science teacher all students need and deserve.
My passion for biology was certainly not forged by academics. My motivation to learn about it was internally driven. As a strange young child, I would watch hours of PBS specials featuring any and all kinds of animals. I had a special fondness for sharks and would make it a point to be home to watch every show about them so that I could learn more. I was totally sucked in by the content, regardless of the narrator. Eventually we got cable, and with that came The Discovery Channel. Then I discovered the ultimate animal guy, The Crocodile Hunter. This guy was so passionate and enthusiastic about animals, conservation, and education that it made the content a thousand times more interesting. He motivated me to want to do more than just learn about it. He actually made me want to go out and do something about it. Now, I can’t say that Steve Irwin is the reason I got my bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Biology, but I’d be lying if I said he didn’t have a big influence on me.
In college I was fortunate enough to have two professors with the kind of enthusiasm that I wish I could project to my students. One was Dr. Roger LeBrun in the Entomology department. I couldn’t wait to get to his class. I could not have been more interested and entertained by him. The man loves bugs. He’s had malaria three times and he still loves them. He was animated and excited, and suddenly insects were the most interesting things I had ever learned about. How could I have lived this long without knowing about the intricate social interactions of bees? I just couldn’t get enough. I was seriously ready to change my major to Entomology after taking his class. If Entomology had been offered as an undergraduate degree, I don’t know where I’d be today.
The second was Chris Nerone. I had him for Field Botany in the summer of 2005. He dragged us all over the state that summer. It was hot, sticky, and buggy. We learned over 400 plants in five weeks. There wasn’t one thing he couldn’t identify. He could name the common name, family, genus, and species of any plant we inquired about and he was excited about every single one of them! He was always happy, upbeat, optimistic and full of energy. He loved his content and he loved spending all of that time teaching it to us. At the end of the summer session, he invited the class to his house for dinner. His wife cooked for us and we hung out with his family. Besides being enthusiastic and fun, he genuinely cared for us and we all knew it.
In high school, I did not have any spectacular biology teachers. The teachers that stand out the most in my mind were the ones who had the time and patience to work with me on subjects that I struggled with, and the ones who believed in me the most. Mrs. Hanratty spent so much time trying to teach me algebra. I had her for algebra I and algebra II and I was terrible at it. She was patient, kind, and never gave up on me. I’m grateful for all the extra time she spent explaining and re-explaining those concepts. While I’m still not great at algebra, I’m sure I’m better off because I had her.
Mr. Malloy was my music teacher. He believed in my ability. I’ve never worked so hard just to make a teacher proud of me. I’m not sure what it was about his teaching style that motivated me to want to make him proud. Perhaps it was just that he believed in me so much that I didn’t want to disappoint him. However it had to be more than that, because he was never disappointed. He was never negative. He told us what we were doing well and then he worked at helping us improve the parts that weren’t so great. I’m sure it was some kind of positive reinforcement, but the reward was the satisfaction of knowing that he was proud of you.
No matter their stated professions, the people who have inspired me the most are all natural teachers. They have all dedicated their lives to educating others about topics that are important to them, and they each bring an infectious enthusiasm to their work. In addition, they each sought to make a personal connection with their students. As a teacher, I look forward to working with students who, like me, have a passion for science. However, I also recognize that many of my students may struggle with the subject. By looking back at my own role models, I believe I can learn how to better reach all of these students. If I can communicate my love for science to students, make myself available for those who struggle, and maintain a positive and encouraging attitude, I believe I can be the kind of science teacher all students need and deserve.